THE £500,000 headquarters of County Durham St John Ambulance have been opened by the Bishop of Durham.

The new premises on the Meadowfield Industrial Estate, Meadowfield, near Durham City, were dedicated by the Right Reverend Tom Wright.

The organisation was based in a terraced house in Old Elvet, Durham City, until 1995 but had to move because it did not meet health and safety requirements for first aid training.

It decided to build a headquarters and training centre.

In the meantime, it has been running from a temporary base on the Littleburn Industrial Estate, Langley Moor.

The new building has three first aid training rooms, a meeting room, a dining and rest area, a general office and reception, administrative offices, a brigade operations room, a training services office, garages, stores and toilets.

It will be a focal point for St John Ambulance services and provide first aid training.

The organisation has 21 divisions with more than 800 volunteers.